New York Post piles on the horror with front-page photo of man about to be killed by subway train

Yahoo ^ | 12.4

[Arthurio]

The New York Post is facing criticism over its decision to publish a front-page photo of a man, pushed onto the subway tracks in Midtown on Monday, trying to climb to safety before being fatally struck by an oncoming train.

Ki Suk Han, a 58-year-old from Queens, N.Y., was hurled from the 49th Street station platform onto the tracks by "a deranged man" around 12:30 p.m., according to the paper. Han was attempting to calm the man, apparently a panhandler, when a scuffle broke out, police say. The man then pushed him onto the tracks.

Witnesses told police the man had been harassing people on the platform. "At least one witness felt that the aggressor was emotionally disturbed," NYPD spokesman Paul Browne told The New York Times.

[Drew68]

They all need to be in involuntary committal in hospitals.

I doubt there's enough hospitals in New York City to commit all of Gotham's crazy residents, much less the staff to care for them.

[RetiredTexasVet]

If the Food Stamp President had a son, he would be just like him .... pushing people onto train tracks!

[PGR88]

Maybe this is off topic but at many subway stations in Beijing and Shanghai this could not possibly happen because the tracks are separated from the platform by plexiglass windows. Who is the third world and who is the first?

NY City could add plexiglass windows, but it would need a $2 billion grant from the Federal Gov't. Its not excessive when you have the most expensive Gov't in the world.

[sphinx]

That was (ahem) questionable editorial judgement. But not unique. Many moons ago — I’d guess late 1970’s, because I was visiting my parents back home — our intrepid southern Indiana beacon of journalism ran a front page pic of a man, still in the car, who had burned to death in an auto accident. Toasted to a crisp. From the posture and the scream seared on his face, he had died in the fire, trying to escape, not from impact. He had a wife and two kids, who must have seen the photo. There was some grumbling in town that the editor should have thought twice.

A quick and tidy decapitation would have been far preferable.

[Tailback]

Willie? Is that you?

[OKRA2012]

When it comes down to it, the guy who pushed the man onto the subway tracks is no different than a drunk who kills someone while DUI.

[DManA]

I think Willie LIKED government run transit. Didn’t he?

[Fightin Whitey]

I live in the sticks and have never been near a subway or a platform, and I mean no disrespect to the victim here.

But it appears to me that he is standing next to the chest-high platform. Am I seeing it wrong—is it possible that he is not standing but rather dangling?—or is it really the case that he is unable to pull himself up over a four-and-a-half-foot ledge?

Is the surface possibly very slippery? Or perhaps it happened in a split-second? The still photo makes it look like he is standing and contemplating his fate.

[Figment]

“and suggesting that Costas run a commentary on the evils of the innate object.”

He also said Costas wasn’t responsible for his comment, it was the microphones’ fault. Same reasoning that Costas and Whitlock used

[Alberta's Child]

When I was a teenager, the first time I ever traveled on the NYC subway system unaccompanied by adults was December 22, 1984. I think most New Yorkers who have been around a long time and travel the subway system regularly have that date etched in their memories.

I haven't been on the subway in several years now. I hate everything about it.

[Alberta's Child]

Actually, I think many of the stations in the Tokyo subway system are built that way -- and that's one of the most civilized places on the planet.

It's not a safety feature designed to deal with loony-tunes who might shove people on the tracks. It's intended to deal with accidental mishaps under very large, surging crowds.

Of course, in Japan you probably don't have to worry about surging crowds or anything like that. Just check out how orderly these people are while their fellow subway riders are crammed into the train in front of them:

These people are probably following a posted rule that says they aren't supposed to cross the white line on the platform until the next train arrives in the station. Imagine that ... following rules.

[GeronL]

civilized?

kiddie porn possession is legal in Tokyo

U-15 (Under-15) perv shops litter the place

girls can sell dirty used underwear

underage prostitution is considered a good way to earn “pocket money” by minors

Half their anime (TV cartoons) usually has at least one story line glorifying sex among/with minors

What is their age of consent these days... 10? 12? not that it’s enforced.

CIVILIZED??

There is no honor there.

[Alberta's Child]

Well, OK -- maybe not.

But I can guarantee you that anyone with an IQ above room temperature would feel safer in Tokyo than in any city in the U.S.

[GeronL]

Oh sure, they won’t steal your bicycle

and if they did their wife and family will turn him in and come to you on their knees and hand you a wad of cash in apology.

Just keep a tight watch on your daughter while your there

[Arthurio]

Fear will often freeze people. Also, he was 58, and it would take quite a bit of upper arm strength to pull yourself out, assuming there were no grippy surfaces for the hands or feet.

[wideawake]

Unquestioning observance of prescribed rules is not synonymous with civilization.

The history of the 20th century should have put paid to argument before you wrote it.

[wideawake]

Unquestioning observance of prescribed rules is not synonymous with civilization.

The history of the 20th century should have put paid to that argument before you wrote it.

[Gene Eric]

Strange there are no others in the camera shot on the platform.

Too bad the guy didn’t lay down between the rails, or stand under the arches. Maybe he just stood up at the time of the photo getting his orientation. Train looks like it’s about 1/4-1/2 of a second away from him.

[Gene Eric]

See #58.

It’s easy enough to avoid getting hit if one is not paralyzed in fear and has at least a couple of seconds to move.

[Fightin Whitey]

Yes I’m sure you are right. I hadn’t noticed his age—in the photo I took him for a younger man.

I was thinking that with the adrenaline burst a guy could almost high-jump out of the trackbed. But I would agree with you that the surprise of being down there (especially since he was pushed) and the shock of the train bearing down might have frozen him in place.